Vallecilla: Revenue from bottles and cans could help address climate change

10/29/2014

Vallecilla: Revenue from bottles and cans could help address climate change

PAWTUCKET - Independent candidate for House District 58 Jonathan Vallecilla says Rhode Islanders have a chance to "take a stand" to let the nation and the world know that this state "will take a lead in cultivating the green and renewable energy industries of the future."

Vallecilla said studies looking into the effects of climate change in Rhode Island are grim. One such study produced by The Providence Plan in 2008 explains that a six-meter rise in the ocean's level would devastate Providence. The study goes on to estimate that the rise in sea level would lead to 828 buildings lost, and a quarter of Providence's businesses would end up being displaced.

If elected, Vallecilla says he would propose legislation instituting a five-cent deposit on cans and bottles purchased in the state. Seventy percent of the revenue generated would be allocated into a "green" initiatives fund. From this fund, the state would be able to upgrade and implement new and efficient technologies, he said. The revenue raised could also be used to grant residential and commercial tax incentives for installing solar panels.

The remaining 30 percent would be used to fund infrastructure repairs and upgrades.

"It's time to invest in Rhode Island," said Vallecilla. "With everything that has come out in recent years in regard to our crumbling infrastructure, it's a matter of public safety that we properly repair and update those things we all share and use on a daily basis."